Commercial Real Estate in Vallejo: Waterfront Districts, Mare Island and the City Conveyance Tax

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

Vallejo’s commercial property sits along Sonoma Boulevard and the other older corridors, in the downtown grid and waterfront facing Mare Island Strait, on Mare Island itself, around the Solano360 fairgrounds site and in the shopping centers off Interstate 80. What sets Vallejo apart from its Solano neighbors is cost at closing: the city levies its own real property conveyance tax on top of the standard documentary transfer tax. Confirm zoning, plan area and tax treatment with the City of Vallejo for any specific parcel.

Who controls the parcel

Inside city limits, Title 16 of the Vallejo Municipal Code is the zoning ordinance. Its district chapters were rewritten and adopted by Ordinance 1879 N.C.(2d) on March 11, 2025, so older zoning letters and offering memoranda may use district names that no longer exist. Large parts of the city are also governed by adopted specific plans (listed below), and where a plan overlaps base zoning the more restrictive rule generally controls. Shoreline sites may need San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) review as well. Unincorporated pockets near Vallejo are regulated by Solano County; see our Solano County commercial guide.

Vallejo zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

District	Intended uses	Notes
NC Neighborhood Commercial	Small-site retail and everyday services for nearby residents	3 stories; 2.0 non-residential FAR; active frontage rules on sites over 100 ft
CC Central Corridor Commercial	Community-serving mixed use along Sonoma Boulevard and specific plan areas	Up to 8 stories; 40% active frontage on primary streets; 3-story cap within 50 ft of RLD zoning
WC Waterfront Commercial	Retail, services and visitor lodging scaled to the waterfront	3 stories; 1.5 FAR; housing is not allowed
RC Regional Commercial	General retail, entertainment and auto-oriented uses for regional shoppers	Up to 8 stories; 100 ft minimum lot width
NMX Neighborhood Mixed Use	Corridor mixed use on Tennessee Street, Solano Avenue, Springs Road, Broadway and Sonoma Boulevard	5 stories / 75 ft; 2.0 FAR
DMX Downtown Mixed Use	Pedestrian downtown under the Downtown Vallejo Specific Plan	8 stories / 102 ft; non-residential FAR up to 6.0; 10 ft build-to line
WMX Waterfront Mixed Use	Waterfront shopping, services and housing	The Waterfront Planned Development Master Plan controls in a conflict
IL Limited Industrial	Light industry, flex space, limited office and live/work	45 ft height
IG General Industrial	Heavy and general manufacturing, including uses moving goods by rail or ship	75 ft height; truck docks at least 50 ft from residential districts

In all three mixed-use districts, at least 15% of street-facing ground floor space must be non-residential, and ground-floor commercial space needs a 15-foot floor-to-floor height. Office and medical uses have their own districts in Chapter 16.205, which we did not review for this page.

Downtown, the waterfront, Mare Island and other plan areas

Chapter 16.210 lists six specific plans, each shown on the zoning map:

Hiddenbrooke (1987, SP-1), the hillside community off I-80.
White Slough (1995, amended, SP-2).
Downtown Vallejo (2005, amended, SP-3), implemented through the DMX district.
Mare Island (2005, amended, SP-4), covering the former naval shipyard across the strait.
Solano360 (2013, amended, SP-5), the county fairgrounds redevelopment site.
Sonoma Boulevard (2017, SP-6), the corridor plan behind much of the CC zoning.

Each plan sets its own development standards and can replace citywide code provisions where it says so. For a Mare Island building, read the plan, the property’s deed and any reuse or environmental restrictions recorded against it before assuming the base table applies. A new specific plan generally needs at least four contiguous acres unless the council finds a smaller area is justified.

Shoreline access, frontage and industrial buffers

Public shoreline access. Development next to the Napa River, Mare Island Strait or Carquinez Strait must provide public shoreline access, and the commercial chapter extends this to San Pablo Bay, with in-water access where feasible. In the mixed-use districts the requirement reaches development within 100 feet of those waters, consistent with BCDC rules.
Active frontage. CC and DMX require 40% active frontage on primary streets and 30% on secondary streets; NC and NMX require 30% and 20%.
Daylight plane. Commercial and mixed-use buildings beside residential zones must stay under a plane that starts 25 feet up and slopes inward at 45 degrees.
Industrial edges. Within 50 feet of low-density residential zoning, industrial buildings are capped at 35 feet, and a planted buffer at least 10 feet wide is required along residential boundaries.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

Vallejo is one of the few Solano cities with a meaningful local transfer cost. Three layers apply to a typical sale, as we read the codes:

Solano County documentary transfer tax, Section 11-60, at $0.55 per $500 of consideration. Under Section 11-67, the county tax is reduced by a city tax adopted under the same state law at half the county rate.
Vallejo real property transfer tax, Chapter 3.08, at 27.5 cents per $500, adopted in 1967 and administered through the County Recorder. This is the half-rate tax that triggers the county credit.
Vallejo real property conveyance tax, Chapter 3.10, at $1.65 per $500, first enacted in 1973 and collected by the city’s Director of Finance. Buyer and seller are jointly and severally liable, so the purchase agreement should say who pays. It has its own exemptions, for example for deeds in lieu of foreclosure and certain partnership transfers.

Confirm each line on the escrow estimate. Separately, under Proposition 13 a change in ownership generally triggers reassessment. Vallejo requires a city business license under Chapter 5.04; we did not verify its tax rates.

Due diligence that matters in Vallejo

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

Translate any pre-2025 zoning designation into the districts adopted by Ordinance 1879.
Check whether the site sits in one of the six specific plans or the Waterfront master plan, and read that document’s standards.
On waterfront parcels, scope shoreline access and BCDC review early.
On Mare Island, request recorded land use or environmental restrictions and any reuse covenants.
Budget the city conveyance tax and agree who pays it.
For mixed-use sites, test the ground-floor non-residential and active frontage rules before you count rentable residential area.

Questions people ask

Does Vallejo have a city transfer tax?

Yes, two. Chapter 3.08 imposes 27.5 cents per $500 and Chapter 3.10 adds a conveyance tax of $1.65 per $500. The county tax of $0.55 per $500 is credited for the half-rate city tax.

Who pays the Vallejo conveyance tax?

The code makes the transferor and transferee jointly and severally liable, so the parties allocate it in the contract.

Can I build housing in Waterfront Commercial zoning?

No. The WC district does not allow residential uses. WMX, the waterfront mixed-use district, does allow housing.

How tall can buildings be downtown?

In DMX, up to eight stories or 102 feet, with a zero setback and a 10-foot build-to line, subject to the Downtown Vallejo Specific Plan.

Is Mare Island zoned like the rest of the city?

Mare Island has its own specific plan, adopted in 2005 and since amended, which sets its standards.

Where is heavy industry allowed in Vallejo?

In the IG General Industrial district, which allows general and heavy manufacturing and goods movement by rail or ship, with buffers next to homes.

Does Diamond handle commercial property in Vallejo?

Contact Matthew Martinez to discuss buying, selling or leasing commercial property in Vallejo.

Sources & notes

Note: The industrial table shows FAR figures inconsistently, so FAR is omitted above; confirm with the Planning Division.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.

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